Group items tagged

Book review by Corinne E. Hyde of Writing Assessment and the Revolution in Digital Texts and Technologies. How to assess writing with technology. Having firmly established that the technology is omnipresent, that it can be reductive and inaccurate, and that it shifts the purpose and nature of writing itself, he goes on to describe what he terms "hypertechs," which can have a much more positive effect on the field of teaching writing. He describes hypertechs as consisting of hypertext (in which readers can progress through the text in multiple ways, and in which there are multiple linked connections), hypermedia (which is very similar to "new media" or "multimedia composition"), and hyperattention (which is actually a characteristic of the writer and reader, and could be equated with the short attention span produced by bombardment and integration of digital media in daily life). Neal then provides concrete suggestions for selecting and evaluating the various technologies that are available for assessing writing, advocating the use of both construct validity and writing outcomes in the process of determining which technologies will provide the greatest benefit to writing educators.

Preview of Google PLus's value to HE Excerpt: "Facebook does allow some selective sharing, but doing so is difficult to master. As a result, many professors have decided to reserve Facebook for personal communications rather than use it for teaching and research. "I don't friend my students, because the ability to share is so clunky on Facebook," says Jeremy Littau, an assistant professor of journalism at Lehigh University. "This gives us ways to connect with people that we can't do on Facebook." In Google Plus, users can assign each new contact to a "circle" and can create as many circles as they like. Each time they post an update, they can easily select which circles get to see it. B.J. Fogg, director of Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab and a consulting faculty member for computer science, says he plans to use Google Plus to collaborate on research projects: "Probably every project in my lab will have its own circle." Mr. Littau is even more enthusiastic. He posted an item to his blog on Thursday titled: "Why Lehigh (and every other) University needs to be on GPlus. Now." "I want to start using this in my class next term," he says, adding that he aims to expose his students to the latest communication technologies in all of his classes. He plans to try the video-chat feature of Google Plus, called "hangouts," to hold office hours online. The new system allows up to 10 people to join in a video chat. Mr. Littau may also hold optional review sessions for exams using the technology. "I can host chats a few nights a week," he says."

Richard Byrne's blog on Free Technology for Teachers always comes up with excellent resources. This one is the Story of Bottled Water produced in 2010. I noticed below on this page videos about plastic and how 1 cheeseburger=15,000 Googles. I assume the last one is about the environmental costs of technology.

Facebook usage in academic work is going up! Excerpt: "The idea of students wanting professors to integrate more technology use into the classroom was a common takeaway from the survey. After e-mail, learning-management systems and e-textbooks were the two technologies that students wanted instructors to use more frequently, according to the survey. Learning-management systems are used by 73 percent of students, and e-books or e-textbooks by 57 percent."

By David Hayward and originally published in April 2009 Integrating Technology column of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears; here it is part of the blog Expert Voices published by the National Sciences Digital Library. The post provides a great overview of Diigo, with advice on how middle school teachers can use it.

very interesting article on Forsyth County schools in GA (I just drove through there the other day and had no idea of their innovativeness!) encouraging students to bring their own technology to classrooms to use in project and inquiry based learning. Amazing!

by Ron Tanner, November 6, 2011 This article echoes some of what Geoff ? said several years ago. When I began teaching a course called "Writing for the Web," three years ago, I pictured myself scrambling to keep up with my plugged-in, tech-savvy students. I was sure I was in over my head. So I was stunned to discover that most of the 20-year-olds I meet know very little about the Internet, and even less about how to communicate effectively online. The media present young people as the audacious pilots of a technological juggernaut. Think Napster, Twitter, Facebook. Given that the average 18-year-old spends hours each day immersed in electronic media, we oldsters tend to assume that every other teenager is the next Mark Zuckerberg. Aren't kids crazy about downloading music, swapping files, sharing links, texting, and playing video games? But video games do not create savvy users of the Internet. Video games predate the Internet and have little to do with online culture. When games are played online, the computer is no longer an open portal to the world. It is an insular system, related only to other gaming machines, like Nintendo and Xbox. The only communication that games afford is within the closed world of the game itself-who is on my team? At their worst, games divert children from other, more enriching experiences. The Internet's chief similarity to video games is that both siphon off audiences from television, which will soon reside exclusively on the Internet. As a delivery system for television, film, and games, the Internet has proved itself a premier source of entertainment. And that's all that most young people know about it. Why wouldn't we educate students in sophisticated uses of the Internet, which is commanding an increasing amount of the world's time and attention? I'm not talking about a course on "How to Understand the Internet" or an introduction to searching for legitimate research-paper sources online (although that is useful, obviously

On blip.tv. A series of websites and other technology that aid the teaching and learning process. The resources are are curated by instructional designers at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"Ineffective use of technology happens because even when given the opportunity- some over burdened teachers shy away from working hard enough to understand how emerging tools can be used for powerful learning. Ineffective use of technology is a teacher problem, a PD problem, a leadership problem, a time problem, a systemic problem, a culture problem - not a computer problem."

"The relationship between innovation and learning is about finding a relationship between what is familiar and what is strange. Creativity and imagination are both maps that allow us to do that. Imagination is a quality we all have, and it is an unlimited resource. The goal of education, training, and innovation spaces is to create and structure an environment where imagination can flourish. Those environments need to possess three qualities: A Space to Ask "What If" In order for imagination to flourish, there must be an opportunity to see things as other than they currently are or appear to be. This begins with a simple question: What if? It is a process of introducing something strange and perhaps even demonstrably untrue into our current situation or perspective. The imagination has to reconcile what is imagined within the boundaries of what is actual and therefore must understand how the world would have to change in order to make what is imagined a reality. Tools and Technique to Re-Imagine Context The work of imagination only has a payoff if it can be put into practice. That means that the context needs to be shaped and articulated in a meaningful way. In the 21st century we are surrounded by tools that allow us to reshape and re-imagine context all the time. From social network sites, to video and music distribution, to web design and production, we are surrounded by opportunities not just to create new content, but literally to transform the context in which that content has meaning. A Network of Imagination Imagination can only flourish when there is a networked collection of people to share that imaginative vision, embellish it, and develop it. What we have elsewhere called "networks of imagination" are shared tools of communication and in some cases co-presence that allow groups of people to construct those imagined realities in practical and concrete ways. Today's networked technology is more than just a conduit to communicate info

"A comprehensive introduction to using technology in all K-12 classrooms."

"Next Generation Learning Challenges is a collaborative, multi-year initiative created to address the barriers to educational innovation and tap the potential of technology to dramatically improve college readiness and completion in the United States."

Online publication with content on enterprise networking & infrastructure in education.

Passionate about the impact of technology integration on student success! 2006 TCEA Classroom Teacher of the Year. Carol Mortensen: Blogger. Author.

Tony Wagner is a first Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. He consults widely to schools, districts and foundations around the world.

Published in Spectrum > Mobile Learning, Libraries, And Technologies, March 12, 2009. "MLE-Moodle is an out-of-the-box mobile Learning (mLearning) system, designed for mobile phones." With MCNC in particular, we've discussed how it might be helpful to be able to engage students/faculty/administrators in Polilogue via mobile phone in addition to computer.

An incredible resource on Learning Through Digital Media Experiments in Technology and Pedagogy, edited by Trebor Scholz.

Experiments in Technology and Pedagogy

Blog on high school economics and 4th grade collaboration on Lawn Boy book that focuses on economic principles that guide a young boy's lawn mowing practice into a money maker. I like that because it takes sophisticated principles and presents them within an interesting story that grabs 4th graders and high school students. Then through a collaboration online between the two age groups, they discuss the book together through a series of Skype interviews/interactions.

Very interesting stats on education--check out Education 2.0, how technology enhanced learning, etc. Socrato! website